Music Instructors

Meet our talented team of instructors

2023-03-15T21:57:03+00:00

Steve Smith

Steve Smith is well-known for his mastery of the mandolin and has toured and performed most of his life. From the bluegrass festival stage to the symphony hall, Steve is a true virtuoso. Co-founder of DNA Music Camps, he's been on faculty at premier camps including Camp Bluegrass, Colorado Roots [...]

2023-04-26T19:31:33+00:00

Chris Sanders

Creating music has been a passion of Chris's since she crawled up on a piano bench and began picking out tunes as a toddler. Her tunes can be heard on six Hard Road Band and Trio albums, and her solo project Rare Bird. A New Mexico Music Award winner, [...]

2023-01-24T20:28:40+00:00

Peter McLaughlin

Peter McLaughlin is an acclaimed acoustic guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, performer, recording artist and music instructor located in Tucson, AZ.  He plays many genres and styles, and specializes in acoustic flatpicking and fingerpicking techniques.  He was born in Washington DC, and his family's roots are in Scotland and England by [...]

2022-12-01T21:25:44+00:00

Sheila McCormick

Sheila McCormick began playing bass in the 1980s, initially playing electric bass and singing in country bands with her husband Reno McCormick. She started playing upright bass in the 1990s. She played in the all-female bluegrass band Sidesaddle for several years, performing, recording and traveling around California and beyond. [...]

2023-03-15T21:57:54+00:00

Mark Miracle

Award winning mandolinist Mark Miracle has been playing Bluegrass/Americana music for over 40 years. Traveling the globe, his stylings and expertise have made him a sought after bandmate, guest artist, and thoughtful teacher. His deep roots in traditional Bluegrass have formed a strong foundation while offering a springboard for [...]

2023-03-15T21:47:05+00:00

Chris Brashear

Chris Brashear is a multi-instrumentalist, a singer and a songwriter. Along with Peter McLaughlin and Todd Phillips, Chris shared an artist residency at the Museum of Northern Arizona which produced The Colton House Sessions: Songs For The Southwest. Chris’s most recent solo recording, Heart Of The Country, was produced by [...]

2021-03-01T00:16:29+00:00

Mike Shiner

Mike Shiner is a soulful balladeer and songwriter with a background in rhythm, blues, soul and Americana. His musical interests and styles range from easy ballads to acoustic blues and Motown grooves. Mike has a degree in Music Production from Berklee College of Music with a Minor in Bass. [...]

2021-06-10T14:51:40+00:00

Reno McCormick

Reno McCormick launched his bluegrass journey when he won the band contest at Bill Monroe’s Bean Blossom Festival in 1976. He played for many years with the Easy Pickin’s Band in Aspen, Colorado, making multiple appearances at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Reno has appeared in many bands (Mars Hillbillies, [...]

2021-03-01T22:12:43+00:00

Alvin Blaine

Alvin Blaine’s career took off after performing Wildwood Flower for his dad at age 5. Up to that point, Dad had prohibited the kids from playing any of his many instruments that graced the living room of Alvin’s childhood. Since then, as a multi-genre, multi-instrumentalist musician, Alvin has performed [...]

2022-11-30T22:34:26+00:00

Richard Brown

Dick Brown was introduced to the banjo and bluegrass while in high school in NM in 1963. After graduation he moved to OK where he met and took some lessons from Gary Price. He joined the military in 1966 and during that time he spent a number of years [...]

2023-04-03T17:59:14+00:00

Nick Coventry

I am very excited to join the Roots and Boots program.  Teaching violin is my family vocation, I watched my Mom with countless students over the years and I myself have been teaching fiddle for over 20 years.  Since moving to Tucson from Santa Barbara in 2010 I have embraced bluegrass, [...]

More information on instructors coming soon…Instructors are subject to change.